The children of slavery – the transatlantic phase

The proportions and number of children entering the trans-Atlantic slave trade changed over time and varied among the different regions of embarkation on the African coast. Until relatively late in the trade, children were generally perceived as a liability and were largely purchased to complete ship cargoes, but in the late eighteenth century and early nineteenth century, more and more children were purchased. The Bight of Benin is examined in detail as an example of regional and temporal shifts, since children were not especially numerous in the shipments from this region before the 1820s. The increasing number of children appears to have related to efferts at boarding as many individuals as possible on ships during the era of British abolition and changing needs for enslaved labor in the Americas, especially in Brazil.